


The Blade Verbena 1853

by stealingpotatoes



Series: Swans and Crows [7]
Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Low Chaos (Dishonored), Low Chaos Emily Kaldwin, Post-Dishonored 2 (Video Game), Post-Game(s), Secret Identity, all the original characters aren't /really/ original characters, almost canon compliant, but that's actually corvo and he knows what she's up to, emily & corvo both have their marks & void abilities because I can, emily thinks she's the sneakiest person to ever live, just ones necessary to the plot yk, other than that it's completely canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:01:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24681982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stealingpotatoes/pseuds/stealingpotatoes
Summary: On an ambassadorial trip to Karnaca, Emily and Corvo are invited to watch the annual Blade Verbena sword-fighting tournament.However, seeing as there are no rules that expressly forbid the Empress from entering, Emily has other plans.
Relationships: Corvo Attano & Emily Kaldwin
Series: Swans and Crows [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796710
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32





	The Blade Verbena 1853

**Author's Note:**

> I thought that Emily secretly entering the Blade Verbena would be a really fun thing to write, so here we are! ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> (Also I'd like to quickly note that -- while it doesn’t come up that much -- I am 100% ignoring how Corvo lost his mark and that DOTO happened/ caused the Marked to lose their powers because I uh- well, because I can...)

After the Duke’s involvement in Delilah’s coup last year, which he now deeply regretted, the Empress’ advisors had seen it fit that she visit Serkonos and the Duke in order to ‘reassert diplomatic relations’. Emily had agreed, eager to see Serkonos while _not_ the most wanted person in the Empire, and to visit Karnaca with her father. 

And so far, the trip had been going quite well. Armando had settled into his secret promotion from body-double to actual duke of Serkonos quite well; from what Emily had seen, Karnaca was thriving in a way it hadn’t done in a long time. Armando had done more good for Serkonos in a year and a half than Luca had in his lifetime. And Emily could happily say he had been a far more gracious host than his predecessor (not that Luca Abele had set the bar awfully high — being better than him really just involved not trying to kill or dethrone her).

Now, Emily looked out the window of her guest chambers at the Grand Palace. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sea ahead in shades of orange and pink. Various staff members and guards were still out working among the Palace grounds, unlike Emily, who for the first time in the week since her arrival, had an evening off.

Her time in Karnaca had been almost non-stop meeting with dignitaries, meeting with citizens, having dinners, smiling for silvergraphs, talking, smiling and waving, and meeting more people. Emily wasn’t exactly _not_ enjoying herself. Really, she was a little bored. 

But tomorrow wasn’t going to be boring. 

Tomorrow she, her father and the Duke were going to go to the annual Blade Verbena; one of the only official events that Emily was actually looking forward to. She’d grown up hearing the story of how her father had, against all odds, won the competition at just sixteen. Emily smiled to herself. She’d probably heard the story enough times to be able to recount it by heart. It was her favourite, and she was always asking to hear it as a child. But no matter how many times she asked, or how bad at storytelling Corvo insisted he was, he’d tell her. 

And now she was actually getting the chance to see the Blade Verbena herself- to see the arena where it all happened, to experience the feel of the ‘roaring crowd’ herself. 

Emily sighed. The Blade probably wasn’t going to be anywhere near as exciting for her as it had been for her father when he’d watched it. She wasn’t going to be standing in the bustling crowd, she would be sitting in the Duke’s box, separate from everyone. She’d have to be keeping her Empress demeanour up, and politely clapping rather than yelling and cheering. And there was the added _fun_ of watching people she could beat in her sleep, knowing that she couldn’t enter.

Or could she?

Emily turned from the window and began pacing. The Blade Verbena _prided_ itself on being open to anyone and everyone. And ‘anyone’ most certainly included Emily. There were no rules expressly forbidding the Empress from entering. 

Emily stopped. There were no _actual_ rules that forbade the Empress from entering, but there was definitely some dumb social rule stopping her. She was meant to be a proper lady, one that didn’t know how to swordfight scarily well. And what kind of responsible empress entered a sword fighting competition? It would make her look reckless and childish. Every newspaper in the Empire would have a field day. 

And even if she let herself compete despite all that, her father wouldn’t. Sure, he was tentatively fine with her running around Dunwall fighting in a mask, but in the tournament she wouldn’t be able to rely on stealth or her Void magic if things went wrong. She’d be completely out in the open, with no guard around her. 

But what if she didn’t enter the tournament as the Empress- or even as Emily? 

Anonymous combatants entering the tournament wasn’t unheard of -- there had been a couple in the year her father won, if she remembered the story right (which she most likely did). Her father had said anonymous combatants never got to the finals, something about them worrying about their mask too much to focus. But Emily had fought behind a mask for well over a month; she could easily do it again for a day. 

Then that was it! She’d enter anonymously. Her father couldn’t stop her if he didn’t even know she was entering. 

Emily moved towards her bedside table and picked her sword up, unfolding it in a swift motion. She held it in front of her, before spinning it into a backwards grip and entering a proper en garde stance. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about stealing a sword for disguise purposes; all combatants were given a blunt sword for the tournament. So her father immediately recognising the counterpart to his own two-of-a-kind folding blade wouldn’t be a problem. 

“Dinner, your Majesty,” Mal, one of Emily’s handmaids, said with a knock on the door.

Emily flicked her blade to fold it back up and returned it to her bedside table, “Come in,” she replied. 

Emily smirked to herself. This trip was about to get a lot more fun. 

-:-

Corvo knocked on the door of Emily’s guest room and leant on the door, “Emily?” 

“Mmhm?” Emily replied weakly from behind the closed door. 

“Mal said you weren’t feeling well?” 

“Yes-” Emily coughed- “Something came over me earlier this morning. I feel absolutely terrible. I think I’m going to have to stay in bed all day.” Emily coughed again. 

“So you can’t come to the Verbena?” Corvo said, sounding more disappointed than he’d wanted to. 

“No, sorry,” Emily said after a beat. 

Corvo sighed. “Do you want me to stay with you?” he asked. 

“Oh- no, no, I wouldn’t want you to miss it because of me! Don’t worry,” Emily sounded as if she was moving around the room. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Completely sure.” 

Corvo knew Emily had been really looking forward to watching the Blade Verbena, and that she knew how much he was looking forward to watching it with her -- Emily wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Which meant either she was, in fact, worryingly ill, or she was up to something. And Corvo knew his daughter well enough to know that the latter was very likely. 

Corvo leaned off the door and glanced at the clock on the wall behind him. He was running late as it was, and staying behind to find out if Emily was actually up to something would only make him later. He couldn’t show up late _and_ without her Imperial Majesty. He’d just have to go now - though maybe he could leave after the first rounds and get back to Emily early. 

“Do you want me to get someone to call for a doctor?” Corvo said, turning back to face the door. 

“No, I’m sure some rest will cure me.” Emily was definitely moving around. Shouldn’t she be in bed?

“Are you okay in there?”

“Did you- I’m _ill_ ,” Emily coughed as if trying to prove that she was ill.

Corvo huffed and put his hands on his hips, “I meant- You’re moving around.”

“I was getting a blanket.” Emily paused, “Aren’t you going to be late?” 

Corvo gave a short sigh again, “I hope you feel better soon.” 

Emily replied with a meek “thanks”, and Corvo turned away and headed off. He just had to trust her, and trust that she wouldn’t be purposefully trying to miss today- trust that she wasn’t lying about being ill.

-:-

The guard Corvo had travelled in the carriage with was (thankfully) very untalkative, and so the ride to the arena was quiet and uneventful. It had been nice to just take in the views of Karnaca while they sped along the tracks. 

As Corvo stepped off the carriage and onto the station platform he was met by a light spring breeze on his face. With it, it brought the sounds of the crowd inside the arena and those on their way inside. The carriage station track stood above street level, though not too far. Though, there was a short bridge from the station to the arena. The arena was bigger than he remembered. A lot bigger. It looked more permanent too -- more metal, more supports. But it was still recognisable as the arguably unsafe wooden arena he’d fought in so long ago. 

Corvo breathed in the air around him. He had missed Karnaca.

A Grand Guard officer caught sight of Corvo and walked over to him, “This way, Lord Corvo.”

Corvo gave him a single nod and followed the guard as he led him across the small bridge. Of course the nobility had to have a separate entrance to everyone else. The nobility were less uptight in Karnaca, but still similar enough to those in Dunwall. The officer led Corvo into the arena entrance, straight through two guarded checkpoints, up a fairly lengthy set of stairs, before leading him down a painted-white corridor and stopping in front of a set of dark wooden doors with a guard either side. The guards opened the door for Corvo. 

Corvo gave the three guards a nod and went through the door, stepping into the Duke’s viewing box. It was more of a small room with a glass wall than it was a box. There were five fairly expensive looking seats about a step away from the glass, the middle one occupied by the Duke, who hadn’t noticed the door open. 

Corvo looked through the window and into the main part of the arena. It had _definitely_ had an upgrade. However much bigger he’d thought it was from the outside, it was even bigger than that. The size of the pit below didn’t seem to have changed much, but the size of the seating had almost doubled. Said seating wasn’t quite full yet, but it never usually was at the start; It’d fill up as the tournament went on. Despite the walls around him and the fact the tournament hadn’t started, Corvo could hear the crowd cheering pretty loudly.

Corvo took a seat next to the Duke, who turned his head to face him. 

“Lord Protector,” The Duke said, addressing Corvo with a smile and slight nod.

“Your Grace,” Corvo returned the nod. 

While Corvo hadn’t had the displeasure of being around the actual Duke Luca Abele for long, he could very easily say that he liked Armando far better than Luca. Armando actually seemed to care about Serkonos and his people, much like Duke Theodanis had. He was doing good for Serkonos. And he hadn’t helped stage a coup against Emily or assisted the witch who turned Corvo to stone, which was always a nice bonus. 

The Duke stood up and took a step toward the microphone in front of him. He was about to announce the official start -- Corvo had arrived just in time. 

“People of Serkonos,” The Duke’s voice echoed through the loudspeakers and the audience quieted, “This has been a prosperous year for our great isle. And I see no better way to celebrate that than with such a great display of the skill of Serkonos’ people.” the Duke threw his hands up, “Let the Blade Verbena commence!” 

The crowd cheered in response. 

The Duke sat back down. “It’s a great shame that the Empress couldn’t make it. She sounded as if she was looking forward to watching the tournament.”

“Mm, she was.” Corvo said, raising his voice to be heard over the crowd. 

Corvo knew that he probably should have tried to make more small-talk, but he couldn’t really be bothered. He wasn’t all that good at it anyway. He turned back to the arena and down to the tournament below. Ten of the sixty-something competitors were standing in the arena, arranged into five sets of partners- five duels. 

The announcer signalled for the combatants to begin, and the pit of the arena came alive with movement. The beginning of the tournament was probably the worst part, in Corvo’s memory. By final duel, he was filled with too much adrenaline and confidence to register anything that wasn’t himself or his opponent. But the first fight? Not only was he incredibly nervous about fighting in front of a crowd for the first time, but he had to focus only on his opponent and not the audience or the other duels happening in the arena. It made fighting even harder than it already was. 

Corvo watched as the ten running competitors became five with each duel’s end. There were some good fighters down there. None that immediately stood out to him as definite winners, but good fighters nonetheless. 

The five who were through to the next round left via the right exit, and the losers to the left, and the new wave of combatants walked into the arena and got into position almost as soon as the previous ten were out. The announcer called the start of the duels over the loudspeaker, and with that, the sound of blades clashing rejoined the din of noise in the arena. 

Corvo looked out to the duels again. One fight caught his eye. A masked woman, mid-duel with a gruff looking man, not too far away from the Duke’s box. The mask in question was just a plain black scarf, tied over the woman’s nose, mouth, and the back of her black hair. The ends of the knot in the scarf were tucked into the not-done-up green jacket that swung as she dodged and struck, revealing a white shirt underneath. As Corvo watched this masked combatant fight, he suddenly realised why Emily wasn’t sitting next to him, watching the tournament.

Emily was competing. 

The woman in the mask was undoubtedly her. Corvo could easily recognise her from the way she moved, the way she fought- all that he’d taught her down at Draper’s Ward flowing through her. He should have realised it sooner, back at the Palace even. What else would Emily have been up to? 

Corvo had half a mind to blink down there to pull her out of her duel right there and then. But… if he stopped her, that would reveal that her Majesty had tried to compete in the Blade Verbena, only for her Lord Protector to have swooped in and stopped her. It wouldn’t be good for Emily’s reputation, that much he knew. She’d been working hard to be more responsible, to take her duties seriously. He could always get her out more discreetly, wait until the end of her match and go find her. 

Or… maybe he _could_ let her compete. Just to see how far she could get. She was wearing a mask, and she was a damn good fighter- if anything getting her out would be more of a threat to her safety. And Corvo _had_ to consider Emily’s safety first and foremost, of course. And Emily deserved a bit of fun after all the boring official duties she’d been doing this week, and would be doing for the rest of the trip. 

Corvo turned his gaze back to Emily just as she disarmed her opponent and pointed her blade to his neck, while he held his hands up in surrender. She had won her first duel and was through to the next round. 

Corvo sat back and folded his arms. This was going to be interesting.

-:-

“And now, the moment you have all been waiting for, the final duel of the Blade Verbena!” The announcer’s voice boomed throughout the arena. 

The sun would be beginning to set soon. As a result, it wasn’t as warm as it had been earlier in the day. The crowd, however, had definitely gotten louder since earlier. The arena was packed to the brim, as it always was by the final duel. Though, the Duke had made a comment about the arena definitely being more full than usual. Corvo wasn’t in much of a place to agree or disagree with him seeing as he hadn’t watched the Blade in nearly forty years. 

“Fighting in today’s finale we have _DANTE VALERIO!_ ” The announcer boomed over the cheering crowd as a tall and strong-looking man, probably in his late thirties or forties, walked into the arena. He held his hands up to the crowd, beckoning them to cheer louder. The crowd cheered more. 

Corvo had seen Dante in the earlier matches. Judging by the way he fought, Dante had had Grand Guard training at some point, but other, better teachers since. He was right handed, and relied mainly on his strength to overpower rather than speed - though he certainly wasn’t slow. There was a certain pride evident in the way he moved. Maybe it was well earnt pride; all of his duels had been over in less than a minute. But pride was a dangerous thing in a fight, something easily exploited. 

“And against this ferocious opponent, we have our _ANONYMOUS COMBATANT!_ ” 

Emily walked on, sword hanging by her side, and the arena erupted in cheers. 

Corvo leant forward and put his clasped hands to his mouth, resting on them. Emily could win this. He knew she could win this. All she had to do was land a hit on Dante or make him yield. She could do that. 

Corvo smiled to himself slightly and wondered if this was how his mother had felt thirty-nine years ago, watching him walk into the arena. Corvo somewhat doubted that she had the same confidence in him, some skinny kid from the Batista District with no actual training, as he had with Emily, a well trained and capable fighter. Emily was hands down a better duelist than he was back then. 

Emily and Dante stood in position, en garde. The announcer signalled for the round to begin, and the two of them immediately began moving, dodging and striking. They were both fast. Corvo could almost hear the metronome he’d used to train Emily ticking as she moved, striking and dodging. There was a certain elegance to the way she fought, one that Corvo had never really noticed while duelling with her himself. 

Emily and Dante continued to hit, parry and dodge. Neither of them were making any significant progress in beating eachother. 

Suddenly, their blades clashed harder as she parried one of his strikes. Dante twisted his sword, trying to disarm Emily. She fought against it, but he was stronger than she was. 

Emily’s sword skidded across the dirt. 

“ _Come on Em,_ ” Corvo whispered into his hands as the crowd gasped and cheered. She could still do this. The battle wasn’t lost yet. 

Dante swung his sword at Emily, but struck only air as she dodged into a roll. He swiftly turned to face Emily in her new position, swinging his sword again. But this time, his blade met Emily’s with an audible clang. 

The crowd cheered again. 

Emily stood up from her crouch and dodged back. She tilted her head to the side and beckoned her opponent forward with a taunt. 

Dante slashed forward, but Emily artfully dodged the hit. He slashed forward again, and she stepped out of the way. Emily was making this look easy. Like it was a dance. 

Dante’s moves kept getting rasher and rasher; he was obviously becoming irritated. Not thinking straight. All the while, Emily was tiring him out and nonchalantly dodging, expending little energy herself. Corvo smirked; he knew _exactly_ what she was doing. 

Emily stepped back, spun her blade behind her, and taunted her opponent forward again. 

This time, Dante threw his entire weight behind a determined and fast strike. But Emily ducked with a step to the side, and he was completely off balance. In that split second, Emily hit him on the back with the flat of her sword. He fell to the ground, face first.

Dante rolled on to his back to find Emily looking down at him, sword pointing at his neck. 

The crowd roared. Before he knew it, Corvo was also standing up cheering and clapping.

“And we have a winner! The first ever anonymous combatant to win the Blade Verbena!” The announcer boomed.

Emily gave a theatrical bow to the audience, sword behind her. She turned, and gave another bow to the other side of the arena, looking directly towards the Duke’s box. Years of being Empress had certainly taught Emily how to put on a show. 

Corvo glanced to the Duke sitting next to him, calmly clapping. Corvo suddenly noticed himself and sat back down, continuing to clap. 

A referee walked into the arena and held Emily’s hand up, while Dante slowly got to his feet. 

She’d done it! Emily had won! Corvo couldn’t stop himself from smiling. His daughter had won the Blade Verbena. Well- an anonymous combatant that officially wasn't his daughter or the Empress had won the Blade Verbena. 

-:-

Knowing her father and how he would rush back to Emily as soon as the Verbena was over, Emily had left at the first chance she had. Luckily, Emily had the advantage of not having to talk to random (and probably very boring) Serkonan nobles about the competition, unlike her father. However, she’d had the disadvantage of having to repeatedly far reach all the way from the arena to the Grand Palace rather than being able to take a carriage. It was a good thing she’d packed a satchel full of Addermire solution, else she never would have made it back. 

Emily silently dropped into her room via her open window, landing in a crouch. She took her brown satchel off, gently chucking it onto her bed. 

Emily noticed the grin on her face, and the realisation hit her again. She’d actually done it! She had not only successfully entered the Blade Verbena, but _won_ it. And on top of that, nobody had even realised it was her. Nobody had so much as hinted to knowing that they were watching their Empress fight, or that they were fighting her. And, given that her father hadn’t stopped her, he hadn’t realised either. Double the win. 

Emily wanted to see the trophy again. She stepped over to her bed, reached over to her satchel and opened it. Emily sighed a little. She only had two vials of Addermire solution left, which meant she had used up most of the stash she’d brought with her to Serkonos -- she’d have to wait until she saw Dr. Hypatia on her visit to the Institute next week or just steal some from her father... or perhaps just stick to not using her powers like she was meant to. Emily shook her head. She’d steal some. 

Emily dug through the bag until she felt the trophy, and picked it out. She stood up to her full height and held the trophy with both hands. It was about the same size as her father’s trophy, if a little bigger. It was definitely cleaner. Nicer and more detailed too. And it was _hers_. She’d won it, all by herself. With no help from her father, no help from the Void, just her skill and skill alone. 

Emily stood there for some time before the realisation dawned on her. “ _Shit._ ” she hissed. Her father would return anytime soon and might just question why she was dressed in the exact same outfit as the anonymous Blade Verbena winner, or why she wasn’t ill. 

Emily grabbed the nightgown she’d left on the floor and began to get changed as quickly as she possibly could. She was in such a rush that she almost tripped over her trousers at one point. She successfully got changed and threw her satchel under the bed. She shoved the trophy into one of the wooden dressers in the room and shut the drawer. She’d find somewhere better to put it later, but that would do for now. 

_Knock knock._

“It's me.” Her father’s voice came from behind the door. 

_Just in time._ Emily quickly got into bed, and tried to look as ill as possible “Come in,” 

Corvo opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him, and sat down on the edge of Emily’s bed, “How’re you feeling?”

“Better than I was this morning.” Emily said with a cough and a weak smile. “How was the Verbena?”

Corvo folded his arms, “Interesting...”

“Oh?” Emily raised an eyebrow.

“An anonymous combatant won this year. First time that’s ever happened.” 

“That is interesting.” Emily said, feigning surprise. 

“Mm.” Corvo glanced around the room “What’s even more interesting is that it was the first time an empress won.”

Emily's eyes widened and her face dropped. 

Corvo laughed slightly and smiled at her, "Did you _really_ think I wouldn't recognise you?"

“I... yeah...” Emily pushed herself up to sit. Of course he recognised her. Why did she think he wouldn’t? 

Emily paused for a moment, “When did you realise?” 

“The second I saw you.” 

“Really?!” Emily exclaimed before huffing slightly. 

“I spend nearly every day with you _and_ I taught you how to fight.”

Emily looked to the side, “Good point.”

“I don’t think anyone else knew it was you, if you’re worried about that.”

“Okay, if you knew it was me, why didn’t you stop me?” Emily said after a pause, looking back to her father. 

Corvo smirked, “I wanted to see how you’d do.” 

Emily couldn’t help herself from grinning. She quickly got out of bed and picked the Blade Verbena trophy out of the dresser she’d unceremoniously shoved it into, before handing it to her father.

“I’m inclined to say I did quite well.” Emily stood in front of him, still grinning.

Corvo turned the trophy in his hand, inspecting it, and smiled, “I’m inclined to agree.”

“So you’re not angry?” Emily said cautiously, raising an eyebrow.

He handed the trophy back to Emily, “Oh- Don’t get me wrong, as your Protector, I’m very annoyed with you for entering behind my back.”

“I-” Emily started to defend herself.

“But as your father and mentor, I am _so_ proud of you.” Corvo stood up and pulled Emily into a hug. 

Emily couldn’t help herself from grinning again as she returned the hug. 

They both pulled away from each other, and Emily looked at the trophy in her hand again. Maybe she’d stop looking at it at some point, but that point wasn’t right now. 

“We need to celebrate.” Corvo said, folding his arms. 

Emily put her hands on her hips, “Won’t everyone be a bit suspicious if I’m suddenly better and randomly celebrating an event I wasn’t at?” 

Corvo scoffed “We’re not celebrating _here._ We’re celebrating in Karnaca-- actual Karnaca, not the Palace District.”

Emily smirked. 

“Meet me on the roof of the carriage bridge in thirty.” Corvo said, before heading towards the door. 

“Should I bring my mask?” 

Corvo stopped and looked at Emily. “If you’re planning on doing something illegal.” He opened the door and walked out. 

Emily stood in her room, still unable to stop smiling. 

She had been right; today really wasn’t boring. 

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoyed writing this, so I hope you also enjoyed reading! Any comments or kudos are incredibly appreciated!!  
> Quick apology if there are any mistakes, this isn't beta read and I have the proof-reading skills of an illiterate hamster.  
> Edit: I did a [sketch of Emily’s Blade Verbena outfit](https://stealingpotatoes.tumblr.com/post/620835640727257088/emily-in-my-fic-the-blade-verbena-1853) over on my [tumblr](https://stealingpotatoes.tumblr.com/), if you’d like to see that!


End file.
